Fantôme Babillard BBBrr
Brasserie Fantôme

Fantôme Babillard BBBrrFantôme Babillard BBBrr
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From:
Brasserie Fantôme
 
Belgium
Style:
Saison
ABV:
6%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.84 | pDev: 10.94%
Reviews:
43
Ratings:
52
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 25, 2023
Added:
Apr 27, 2004
Wants:
  17
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by kmpitz2:
Photo of kmpitz2
Reviewed by kmpitz2 from Tennessee

3.53/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From notes. 750 ml. 300 ml sample. The cork almost blew out of this one as I attacked it with the waiters key. This one pours with a ton of bubbly head that settled very quickly to a solid coat over top that was maintained by a moderate carbonation bubling up. The beer was an oranged tea color with a finger of head after all the initial fuss. Clarity was moderate. Nose was musty, with light straw notes and a moderate aged brett funkyness. A very light brown sugary flavor (not sweetness) was there as well. The mustyness was pretty strong, and this one just didn't seem to have the depth of flavor of other Fantome brews. The flavor was very funky, musty, barnyardy wit ha kiss of sourness. There was a moderate bite to the funk, not like a hoppy bite, but not an astringency. Just a bite. The mustyness was very prominent, and even a touch too much for me. The finish was a mild pepperyness and a mild bitter. The complexity is nice, but the flavors didn't jive well with my taste. Feel was all about carbonation. As soon as I took a sip, the carbonation just burst into a ton of foam. It really made it difficult to enjoy more, as I felt I was drinking all foam. Lots of bubble in soution and my mouth was the nucleation site. The finish was very dry, seeming to draw all the water out of my mouth with it. Overall, this one was okay. Funk was very strong, most likely from the age on this one. It left me feeling full of bubbles, not something I like. I'd give this one a big swirl a few times before drinking it to see if I could get the carbonation down a little
Jun 06, 2006
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.11 by SadMachine from New Jersey

Feb 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by jrob21 from North Carolina

Oct 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by GRG1313 from California

Aug 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by BDeibs from Colorado

Jul 30, 2015
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.14/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at his tasting.

Pours a hazy orange with a foamy tan head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of grain, honey, fruit, and cardboard aromas. Taste is much the same with grain, earth, spice, and cardboard flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of earth bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an average beer that is drinkable, but it is definitely pretty old and oxidized at this point.

Serving type: bottle.
Jul 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by drewone from California

Jul 27, 2015
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.52/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to Dunt for saving me a pour of this. It appears a hazy copper to amber color with a tan cap that fades leaving big bubbles holding around the edges.

The aroma is very bready and grainy almost like biscuits paired with unfermented wort. A little fruitiness, raison, caramel and mild oxidation/cork character. To date, ive never had a fantome smell anything like this. Very atypical which says a lot considering the wild variation.

The flavor is as expected quite malty like bread/biscuits with a slight fruity edge and herbal bitterness coming into play. There is some cork/oxidation poking through as it warms. Strangely enough the flavor of this is very linear and plain compared to all other Fantome experiences ive had.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is peculiar how fresh and malty feeling this is even after being aged 10 years. As far as fantome goes, this is very plain and forgettable. Glad I got a chance to try it but lackluster and character-less is about as fitting of a description as I can give.
Jul 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Holland from Illinois

Jun 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Gonzoillini from Illinois

May 31, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by t0rin0 from California

Sep 01, 2012
Photo of RblWthACoz
Reviewed by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Ow! My ears man! When I pulled the cork on this it was extremely piercing.

Pours a slightly fogged amber with a creme head. Nose was a chalky honey at first. Then it seemed to go a bit almost rubbery/plastic like. Flavor has subdued honey tones. A calmed down mature earthy thing. Smooth sweet tone. Feel has a typical liquid feel and the carbonation is on the level. This is drinkable, yes. But I have to agree with others that this is past it's prime. The flavors have begun to mature a bit too much. It was still nice to drink though. I pine for my early NYC days when Fantone was more widely available here.

Thanks to kplynch for this one.
Sep 29, 2008
Photo of AKBelgianBeast
Reviewed by AKBelgianBeast from Alaska

3.67/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
thanks to mikesgroove for this one. Pours an odd amber/orange color with a huge fluffy fantome head. Nose is all spice and malt, missing the hops here. Taste follows with a lot of maltiness for a saison, and some spice with a tiny bit of peppery flavor. Mouthfeel is good and plenty carbonated. Drinkability is ok, but the age on this one has hampered this a bit. Ok, but I think this one is past its prime.
Sep 02, 2008
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

3.7/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
I found a stash of these bottles at a local store, and when asking the manager where they came from, apparently they had been sitting in the back fridge in a wine carton for a couple years! Go figure, anyway they were at least stored out of the sun in a cool environment, so I figured we should be good to go. Always appreciate finding that rare, aged treat. Cool looking Fantome bottle, with the usual cap and cork to it. I proceeded to open this one up and pour this light reddish looking liquid into my Terrapin snifter. I right away noticed that there was a definite light red or pinkish hue to it, and a good amount of sediment in the bottle. Some light carbonation was coming up from the bottom now, and making it look a good bit thicker. Light cloudiness and haze overtaking it as well. A decent sized head of foam, perhaps two inches high then came up over the top and settled down a little lightly and left behind just the slightest bit of film across the top, mostly on the sides and a small amount of side glass lace.

The aroma was very malty, which surprised me a bit. There was definitely some hints left in there of some wild yeast that had probably at one time been very dominant, but now were sitting in the background, just giving off the slightest aroma of cherry tartness every once and a while. A good bit of caramel and apple mixing in, and a lot of earthy grain like smells wafting in and out. The flavor was more of the same, heavy on the malts, with a good dosing of what almost tasted like corn syrup sweetness. There was some dark fruits in there, raisins, hints of dark sour cherries and prunes, and a touch of raspberry floating around as well. Loads of bready malts driving it now, but the finish was nice and left that good cherry flavor on the tongue for a few minutes before it faded. There was adequate carbonation in here, however something just did not feel right with it. It had a somewhat thin feeling, watery or slick almost, quite different. I was not really sure what to make of that, but it distracted me quite a bit from enjoying this. The drinkability was good, light abv and an interesting, malty, and almost spicy flavor, I could easily finish off this bottle with ease.

Overall it was interesting to say the least. Not overpowering, and much darker, and breadier then most Belgians. It did not really taste stale, or oxidized in any way, just like it had gone through a tremendous transformation. For a 6% abv beer that was over 4 years old, not bad though. It was definitely interesting, and something that I would drink again though.
May 30, 2008
Photo of czfreeman
Reviewed by czfreeman from California

4.65/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A soon as this delectable brew is poured very active carbonation explodes into a white, rocky head that retains its composure before slowly dissapating to a deep red-brwonish color very similar to a Flanders Cru.

Aromas are very interesing. Musty hay, wet grasses, an old cellar, yeast, then this awesome twang of wild grass,strawberries,some toffee. Its really hard to describe. Like being in a musty cellar and suddenly smelling a patch of wild grass. Very wide range of aromas to explore.

Flavors are crisp,tart,fruitlike,some candy-like sweetness,high carbonation. absolutley delicious. Once again, so complex it is nearly impossible to pick out very many individual in the kaliedecope in my mouth right now. Mouthfeel finishes on the lighter side, this brew is very carbonated.

This was my fisrt from Fantome, and I honestly don't know what to say other than-wow! How did he do that? Drinking a beer such as this is truly inspiring to an aspiring brewer such as myself. I eagarly anticipate my next offering from this brewery.
Mar 11, 2008
Photo of weeare138
Reviewed by weeare138 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to eyedrinkale for sharing this one...
Appears a hazy, dark amber with a small white head that fades into a mild white cap. Spotty streaks of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of funky, cork, wet straw, toffee, vanilla, brown sugar, and roasted nuts.
taste is of the mentioned aromas with a standout of sweet, sugary, earthy malts. Light oxidation in this aged bottle but still decent.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, semi-sweet, smooth, with sugary caramel holding on with light herbs and spices.
Oct 26, 2007
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.41/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Acquired from BRoss242 courtesy of the Never Again (Again) BIF, so a big “Thank you” goes out to him. Poured from a 750ml bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a bright amber color with a large white head that fades slowly and leaves a decent lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of Belgian yeast, sour apples, caramel and light malts.

T: The taste starts out with a good sweet & sour combination containing flavors of apples, apricots, spice, caramel, chocolate and Belgian yeast. However, the sweetness fades quickly and leaves the sour sting. The malt character is hearty and there’s a mild hops presence. The after-taste is slightly bitter.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, light-to-medium body, medium-to-heavy carbonation, clean and dry finish.

D: A little tasty, goes down as easy enough, not too filling, however it seems to me that the beer is a bit past its prime, but it does seem to get better as you drink through the bottle.
Sep 06, 2007
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.53/5  rDev +18%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Appearance: Pours a hazy light amber color with a dynamic head that gushes, persists and laces

Smell: Malted chocolate, a touch of caramel and a strong hint of nutmeg - my this almost smells like egg nog, spiked, of course

Taste: Starts with a wonderful sweet toffee flavor up front, like sucking for a moment on a Kraft caramel; just before the swallow an assertively funky bitterness kicks in and really develops as the liquid slips down the gullet; has the characteristic of Brie cheese; the finish provides an echo of the caramel along with a leathery tannic aspect

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body and a bright carbonation; the tongue prickles after the finish from the tannins

Drinkability: Another extraordinary effort from Fantome.

Although this beer is retired, I still see it around on the shelves in the Carolinas - time to get some more!
Sep 23, 2006
Photo of dogfooddog
Reviewed by dogfooddog from Panama

3.92/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml, I assume this bottle is a couple of years old at least. Pours with nice light tan head, nose is immediately recognizable as Fantome, very musty and 'barnyard' odors immediately are noted.

taste is surprisingly sweet, a bit syrupy, maybe a bit old-beer taste as well. aftertaste is a bit more subtle, slightly bitter and bittersweet.

Low-alcohol variant from this brewery. Happy I found it, it obviously is gone forever.
Aug 10, 2006
Fantôme Babillard BBBrr from Brasserie Fantôme
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 52 ratings